I Am Not Going To Die Here

It had been a particularly awful day.

He had achieved what he thought was his lifetime dream. He had made it to what was suppossed to be, the top of his profession.

He had practiced literally for years, studied, and practiced more. Upon achieving the top of his profession he found all was not what he expected.

He worked long hours. He was underpaid. He was just another cog in the wheel. It was depressing.

Arriving home that one day he told his wife:

“I am not going to die here.”

Andre Rieu now lives in a castle.

He is one of the most popular classical artists in the world. How much can change when you make the decision to change it.

I heard this part of an interview with Andre Rieu as I was passing through the living room. My mother was watching him on PBS (once in a while they do have something worth watching). I became an instant fan of Andre Rieu. Waltzes are not my favorite classical music but I admire Rieu as a man.

For me, that statement “I am not going to die here.” represents a determination to change what may be wrong in life and make it what you expected it to be. To not continue down the same path when you know it is not going where you want. To not settle for less than you expect.

What Andre Rieu has done since that day is amazing.

He has his own orchestra. He lives in a castle. He is living life the way he dreamed.

For me, the statement above has become a source of motivation when I don’t quite feel like putting in the extra work I need to do to go forward. If I am not going to die here, it is going to take some work to get out of here and somewhere I want to be.

How about you? Are you where you want to be? Are you doing what you want? Are you going to change it, or are you just going to die there?

@Hasan AKhtar from Web Hosting Guru: I would encourage you not to give up, but to keep trying to find what works. Find out the principles that make the popular bloggers successful and copy those principles.
One of the reasons I have moved my focus to a new blog is because I realized I was not doing something right. In short, I had no focus and no business plan. Blog about what you know that most people don’t.
I know my biggest failure is consistent posting. Something I have noticed in nearly every top blog is frequent posts (at least at the start).

Was Rieu working as a musician when he turned things around or was he doing something else and transitioned to music? I’d also be interested in knowing what it was that he did that turned his fortunes around.

@Reg from I need help: There was something funny with the link in your comment so I re-posted it.
My impression is that he was a musician for another orchestra when made that statement. Most of my inspiration for this post was from a PBS interview with Rieu. I did some additional research from his own webpage which you can check out. Or wait till a local PBS station if having a beg-a-thon and featuring Rieu.
The interview is something I’ll probably never forget as that statement really got my attention. It’s a lot easier to sit around and complain about the way things are in life and just continue to be miserable, but when you make your mind up to change it, amazing things can and will happen.

I loved your perspective of life. Just a few people has the power and motivation as Andre Rieu does. I think somehow he realized life is short and his awful dead may come one day or another. I found out we have no time to lose wandering around. We all should follow his example.
Thumbs up! Good sharing!Daniel@Sock Buster Reviews´s last blog post ..100 cotton socks reviews

After a particularly hard week, I needed those words. Now it’s just figuring out how to go about changing that is going to be the challenge. But I, too, want something better. Sometimes it’s the thinking that gets in the way of doing, though.

Inspiring. I think anything is possible in life. It’s how we get there, that’s the journey. Great article for personal development and motivation in doing what we wish to do in life. We can’t just be robots and repeat the same thing each day. Definitely an eye opener. Thanks 🙂

For me, the statement above has become a source of motivation when I don’t quite feel like putting in the extra work I need to do to go forward. If I am not going to die here, it is going to take some work to get out of here and somewhere I want to be.

very inspiring article. In the past couple of years i had to face the reality. Always questioning myself is this is what I want from my life, was it enough. Then i decided to quit my job and start doing something i enjoy. I found my self in photography, capturing moments and portraying the world through my lenses. I advise everyone to have this debate with themselves. Is this what you get from life? or do you deserve better?

Recently I was diagnosed with anxiety disorder. After speaking with several professionals we came to the conclusion that my busy life style has been triggering my anxiety. It was like a slap to my face. I was doing this to my self without knowing it. Working 6 days a week 12 hours a day, lack of sleep, not meeting my friends, not having weekends… I dont want to live this way, I want to enjoy life and not live to work but enjoy my life. I decided that I will stop living for my job and start to enjoy life. Thanks for sharing such amazing job. As you wrote “I am not going to die here!”.

Today is my father’s birthday.. He passed away 3 years ago… since then i understood how life is short and that i should live my life fully. I only do things that I enjoy doing. Life is short enjoy every second of it.

I am not going to die here!!! the title perfectly fits to describe the situation. We all have been there and we all felt down. Life is like a wheel, you see bottom and top. You just have to put your self up and keep going.

Great job with the article. Very inspirational. People live their days so simple and as if we are machines. Wake up, go to work, eat and sleep and all over again. We sometimes don’t understand how we are gifted to be living and breathing, people die everyday and you ask to yourself did they enjoyed their lives? Well we should enjoy every moment and do only the things we want to do.

Determination I feel is the key to success, that’s one thing I’ve learn this past decade. People like to say it’s working hard or working smart, but the reality is, you only know what you know. So mistakes are bound to happen, that means, your success is dependent on your ability to go on, to strive, to success in the face of adversity, because that’s what we all have to contend with.Uchenna@Compuchenna´s last blog post ..How to Change a File Extension